Made in Hollywood

"Director Rosenberg, if you can..."

At the end of the program recording, Chai Jing tentatively issued an invitation, "Can I invite you to lunch?"

"It's my pleasure."

Duke seemed very polite, but declined politely, "I have already made an appointment with someone at noon, Mr. Han from China Film Group."

As a person who yearns for America, Chai Jing has no regrets. She will leave Shang Hai in the afternoon. She cannot get closer to America's most famous director and rich man. She will undoubtedly miss a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

What else did she want to say, but Duke didn't give him a chance to speak. He called his assistant to entertain the group, picked up his mobile phone, dialed Tina Fey's number, and briefly asked about the situation in North America. After leaving the small conference room used for recording the program, he returned to his room. It was getting late. He was going to change his clothes and accept the banquet from the mountain eagle.

This is not a formal official banquet. The other party just invited him and a person in charge of Warner Greater China. The venue of the banquet was an old Chinese restaurant not far from the Hilton Hotel.

Due to the interview, Duke arrived a little late.

"terribly sorry."

Regardless of the actual perception, it is a fact that he was late. Duke sat next to Phil, the head of Warner Greater China, and said to the mountain eagle in the main seat, "There is an interview, which takes a little more time."

"It doesn't matter." Zuo Shandiao also knew which media Duke was interviewed by, and said with a smile, "There are not many people in this world who can wait for Rosenberg to direct."

Phil adjusted his seat slightly, "Sometimes I also want to wait for Duke, but I don't have the qualifications."

"Phil, when did I make you wait?" Duke also made a small joke.

He and Phil were quite acquainted with Phil in the 1990s, and the other party also hired Yuan Heping for him in Hong Kong.

Waiting for the waiter to serve the wine and dishes, the mountain sculpture was the first to raise the wine glass. "Congratulations on the big sale of Transformers."

Duke said as the locals do, "Happy together."

"Yes, we are happy together." The mountain eagle laughed.

"Transformers" has an investment from China Film Group.

Liquor is still too strong for Duke. He basically tasted it, and he didn't eat a few bites of the authentic Chinese food prepared by the hotel. One is that this kind of banquet is more about communication, and the other is that after decades of Western food, it is somewhat unsuitable for the taste of Chinese food.

Some things will not change with personal will, such as the huge difference in eating habits between the East and the West.

Not to mention the West, even within this vast country, it often happens that this province is not used to the food of another province.

Probably to take care of him and Phil, the banquet was a Western-style meal sharing system. Duke and the head of Warner's Greater China region just tasted each dish before putting down the knife and fork.

Phil has worked in this land for many years and seems to be accustomed to Chinese food. Duke is different. For example, he tasted a delicious Sichuan dish. But the stomach that hasn't eaten such a spicy taste for many years can't bear it. After only two bites, there is a feeling that the stomach wants to rebel.

"Phil, Duke."

This kind of occasion can naturally shorten the distance between people. After discussing the topic of Chinese food while eating, the mountain sculpture gradually turned to the topic. "Transformers is an inevitable success in the global market, especially in the Chinese market."

He picked up the teacup and took a sip, "Frankly speaking. We know that Duke's films can sell well in the Chinese market, but China Film Group did not expect it to be so popular, which reminds me of "Titanic" back then. "

"Thanks to China Film Group for its distribution and promotion." Duke said politely.

He is not a person who does not understand the world, nor does he think that he is so arrogant that he can kill the whole world. "Transformers" can get more than 300 million yuan in the Chinese market in seven days. The quality of the film and the feelings of the audience are one aspect. The strong support of China Film Group in the publicity and distribution links is another aspect, and even extremely critical.

"Transformers is a model of our successful cooperation," Zuo Shandiao's eyes seemed to be full of sincerity, "I have been thinking recently, whether this kind of cooperation model can be used by many Chinese film companies and Hollywood companies. To promote it in time, so that more and more similar co-production films appear in markets around the world?”

International cooperation can be said to be the mainstream production model in Hollywood. As long as the funds are sufficient and core issues are not involved, Hollywood companies will not care whether the investment funds come from Russia or China.

"I also hope to increase more cooperation with your country." Duke naturally led the topic to Phil, "I'm just a director, and China Film should communicate more with Warner in this regard."

Phil looked at Duke and couldn't help but smile.

In any case, Duke was once a part of this country's film industry, he thought for a moment, and then said, "Any film company with ambitions and plans wants to promote their films to the world. Your country and We are also very interested in the global market. The globalization of the film industry is a global issue, not a national issue. It is a big problem in the United States and a big problem in any country, so we need to work together on this. Collaboration is very different now than it was a few years ago, we live in a digital age, so to be successful we have to work globally.”

Hollywood can be said to be a model of film globalization. Ang Lee once said that what belongs to the nation is not necessarily what belongs to the world.

In some respects, Duke agrees with this statement. In many cases, national films are often niche films, even in Hollywood.

This is a very simple truth. Cultures have commonalities, and there are also very deep regional and ethnic restrictions, and these restrictions will not be transferred by people's will.

To sum up the movie, the two versions of "Infernal Affairs" can be said to be typical.

After the Hong Kong version of "Infernal Affairs" was shown in North America, it only got a box office of 160,000 US dollars, which is completely disproportionate to its high score on IMDB, and North American audiences are quite dissatisfied with it. Among them, the most criticized is that the film is too romantic and romantic. It's not like a police and bandit movie at all. The rooftop confrontation known as a classic in the East is also one of the most violently criticized places. The moment when two people who are repressed and facing a life-and-death confrontation say such a romantic dialogue, in the eyes of North American audiences Simply incredible.

In the same way, "The Departed" only has a market in North America and the West, and has been severely criticized in the Western Pacific region. The various foul language of the characters are simply unbearable, especially in the rooftop scene, Leonardo and Matt Damon kept cursing 'FUCK', completely destroying the mood of the original...

The differences brought about by culture are vividly reflected in these two films.

In today's world, Western-style culture undoubtedly occupies an absolute dominant position. This will not be transferred with personal will. If Chinese films want to truly enter the world market, on the basis of maintaining their own characteristics, they must conform to the trend of globalization.

Having said that, Chinese films want to run wild in the world like Hollywood films, no matter how fast the film industry develops, it will not be able to do this.

The reason is very simple. If the film industry of any country wants to replace Hollywood, that is not a problem that the film can solve.

"Mr. Han, I still don't know much about the functions of China Film Group, but I think the company you are in charge of and the department in charge of the upstream industry should be somewhat similar to MPAA."

Now that he has opened his mouth, Duke also intends to say a few more words. Although he pursues the principle of the supremacy of interests, after all, a part of this body has lived on this land and worked hard in this industry.

"MPAA's job is actually very simple, basically assisting Hollywood studios, protecting their productions and improving market access. It's an industry, it's a business, and it's important to expand the market."

The mountain eagle also showed a serious listening look, at least on the surface.

Duke is very clear that he cannot view this leading figure in the Chinese film industry from a one-sided perspective. The other party has been immersed in this industry for decades. If he says he does not want to see the development of Chinese films, it must be false.

"And obviously, filmmaking is expensive," Duke added. "A writer only needs a pen, a painter only needs a brush, but a filmmaker needs an army, a high-level team that works well together. The cost of film production today is very high, whether in China or elsewhere, it costs a lot to make a good film. It is very important to make sure that you make a good film that audiences want to see, and that audiences around the world are interested in. ."

In any country in the world, even in France, movies are a business.

It seems that Duke's words have played a role, and the mountain eagle asked quite seriously, "What is urgently needed for Chinese films to enter the international market?"

"I'm not sure about the current positioning of Chinese films, and no one can tell me what kind of world status Chinese films have."

Having said this, Duke stopped and looked at Phil, Phil smiled and did not refuse, and then he said, "The number of screens in China is increasing, the number of movie theaters is increasing, the number of movies is increasing... All this tells I -- Chinese cinema is on a very bright path."

He changed his voice, "What I want to say is that what your country should see is continuous growth. The Chinese market is the foundation. Only by laying a solid foundation can it be possible to expand overseas."

The mountain eagle sighed softly, "It's just that time waits for no one."

He will retire in a few years.

"Mr. Han, this is a common problem in the world's film industry." Duke thought for a moment and said, "If Hollywood only makes movies for the American market, we will never succeed. The reason why we have been successful for so many years is that Warner Bros. The company has been developing for nearly a hundred years because we create excellent global films, I think you understand this truth, this is the right path, and it is good news for everyone." (To be continued~^~)

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